B-17 Crash Recovery & Crew Burial

[Rob Kopan]

Here are some pix I thought I'd share with you. They show a crashed B-17 in a wooded area and the recovery of the plane and the burial of the two dead crew members. I had previously posted the dead crewman pic in the KIA section. These came from a nice photo album that I got off a fellow forum member some time ago. <BR>
<img src="http://www.thewarpage.com/wc/crash1.jpg"><BR>
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<img src="http://www.thewarpage.com/wc/crash2.jpg"><BR>
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<img src="http://www.thewarpage.com/wc/crash3.jpg"><img src="http://www.thewarpage.com/wc/crash4.jpg"><BR>
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<img src="http://www.thewarpage.com/wc/crash5.jpg"><BR>
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[R MICHAEL]

Very sad but very interesting photos Rob. This particular B-17 may be this one "24489 (306th BG, 367th BS) lost Dec 20, 1942" The number at the start refers to the tail number.

Mike

[MikeW]

I am moved by the funeral procession, never thought the Germans would do this since Allied bomber crews were at the mercy of the Germans and Cilivians.

[C7riS]

I am moved by the funeral procession, never thought the Germans would do this since Allied bomber crews were at the mercy of the Germans and Cilivians.

Agreed.. they show way more respect that I ever would have imagined..

[BlackWolf3945]

Nice shots!

There are two different aircraft shown here. The one in the woods I cannot identify from these images, although a closer look at the wreckage photos may yield an ID of the type.

As mentioned by R MICHAEL, the B-17 is indeed a ship from the 367th Bombardment Squadron(H), 306th Bombardment Group(H). The men of the 306th were known as 'The Reich Wreckers'.

Anyhoo, this Fort was a B-17F-10-BO, serial number 41-24489. The date of loss given above is correct, and this was one of three Forts lost by the 306th BG that day.

The operation was VIII Bomber Command Mission #26; primary target was an air depot at Romilly-Sur-Seine.

Units involved in this mission included three other B-17 Groups of the 1st Bombardment Wing (91st BG, 303rd BG & 305th BG) and one B-24 Group of the 2nd Bombardment Wing (44th BG).

At the end of the day a total of six bombers were missing... all B-17s... two from the 91st, one from the 303rd and three from the 306th.

As to the funeral... I believe that, in general, the Luftwaffe was responsible for handling any downed aircraft and/or airmen... and all the German personnel in these photos appear to be Luftwaffe. The vast majority of accounts that I've come across (RAF & USAAF) indicate that the Luftwaffe usually treated its prisoners rather well and exhibited a higher degree of courtesy towards the allied flyers, which was perhaps fueled by a common professional interest. So the sign of respect shown by this funeral isn't really all that surprising.


Fade to Black...

[Okrach]

Are You sure that the burial procession shown carries tha US soldiers?...

[Tim DC]

Great series, thanks for sharing!

As to the funeral of allied pilots: indeed in most occasions, especially in the beginning of the war, much respect was paid during the burrials. I have a photo showing a funeral of British airmen in Belgium. As far as I remember, the coffins were nicely decorated with flowers and even the British flag. The civilian crowd was allowed at the funeral and could also pay their respect. I can imagine this practice disappeared at the end of the war, when there was less respect for enemy airmen as German cities, homes and families were bombed without mercy.

I am not at home for the moment, but if that's OK for Rob I'll post the photo in his thread tomorrow.

[Rob Kopan]

I did have some info on this plane somewhere and there were two crewman KIA. Of course there's no 100% way of saying that the funeral is for these two guys but considering the facts and the placement of the photos in the album, I'd say it's them. Also, the pic of the two coffins on the grave have no flag on them. Other grave shots I have of German burials, the flag is still on the caskets.

[Tim DC]

This is the photo I was talking about. It is taken in Braine-le-Comte, Belgium. I think the huge crowd and the huge amount of flowers (some of the people in the row are going to add some more) is really striking.

[Rob Kopan]

This is the photo I was talking about. It is taken in Braine-le-Comte, Belgium. I think the huge crowd and the huge amount of flowers (some of the people in the row are going to add some more) is really striking.

Nice photos. Very moving. Thanks for posting it.